Face-off: 1900 ET, 27/01/2022
Venue: Centre Bell
Montreal ran out of steam when hammered at Minnesota on Monday but have had time to recover and previously impressed on a tough road trip.
Anaheim are coming off a stamina-sapping shootout loss at Toronto just last night, so the Canadiens have everything in their favour at Centre Bell.
We reckon 2.1 for a home win on the money line is tempting enough to warrant support in our Montreal Canadiens vs Anaheim Ducks predictions.
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Montreal Canadiens Odds
There is no point trying to hide the fact that Montreal’s 8-2 thrashing by the Wild was a horror show from the NHL basement dwellers.
Cayden Primeau was pulled for the third period after letting in five goals from 32 shots and rookie replacement Michael McNiven then conceded three times from seven.
“Throw that one right out the window,” insisted forward Josh Anderson. “Obviously, every single guy in that locker room knows we need to be better.
“I know it’s been a long road trip and whatnot, but you have got to find a way even when you’re tired. We just left both our goalies out to dry.”
Such results are hard to forgive or forget, but the Canadiens were at the end of a daunting week of five away fixtures and had performed with credit prior to that meltdown.
Montreal enjoyed a 5-3 win over Dallas, who have since claimed four straight victories, and they also took Vegas and Colorado to overtime.
Number one goalie Jake Allen is still out, but Sam Montembeault is pressing for a return between the posts if Primeau needs help.
Looking at the NHL odds, those eyeing an early pay-out could try 1.95 for the Canadiens to score first, as they even did that against Minnesota.
Anaheim Ducks Odds
Anaheim are still a creditable second in the Pacific Division but have won only four of their last 14 matches.
The Ducks battled back from 3-1 down to tie things up and earn a point at Toronto, when Sam Steel had a goal and an assist, but faltered in the shootout.
As well as now fearing the fatigue factor, it should be noted that John Gibson made 41 saves in a stellar performance to keep his side in contention.
“We’ve got to thank Gibby for that,” admitted forward Jakob Silfverberg. “I don’t know how many Grade-A scoring chances he saved for us.
“Obviously, not a good performance by any means for us. We got a point but we know we’ve got to play a lot better.”
It was 2-2 between these sides in Anaheim on Halloween until the Ducks sneaked ahead halfway through the third period, so we know Montreal can compete with their higher-ranked opponents.
In what should be an open affair, let’s take a punt on the Canadiens to prevail on the money line combined with over 6.5 total goals in the game at 4.7 to finish off our NHL predictions.
Additional stats
Last result:
Minnesota 8-2 MONTREAL
Toronto 4-3 ANAHEIM (OT)
Head-to-head: Anaheim 4-2 Montreal
